agtech

Meros welcomes summer research assistant, Tomo Nagai!

Posted by Team Meros in News

Meros welcomes its newest summer research assistant, Tomo Nagai. Tomo grew up in Hong Kong and will be a final year student at the University of Exeter in the UK, where he is a business management major.

Tomo discussed with us his reasons for joining Meros this summer. “I felt that Meros was a good fit for me as I am very interested in consulting and I value training and learning greatly, especially at this stage of my career. Meros is filled with workers who have rich consulting experience who can offer great mentorship for me this summer.”

“Initially I thought of possibly joining a “big name” firm but talking to both Lucia and Ayako in the interview about the benefits of working in a boutique firm, I thought our values aligned and I knew I would have a great learning experience that I would not get anywhere else.”

“I like that there is a clear sense of a team within Meros. Being a small company, it is important to have great communication and collaboration between team members and that can clearly be observed when working here. From day one I felt very welcomed and had very little difficulty integrating with the whole team which shows Meros’ friendly and team-oriented character.”

“I also really like and respect the attention to detail that Meros provide in their solutions and recommendations. Meros seems to differentiate themselves by really focusing on getting deep information which makes a huge difference for their clients. I can already tell that Meros aims to provide the best possible service to their clients which is an important skill that I want to take away.”

This summer, Tomo will be involved in a number of Meros projects related to different aspects of agtech. He will also be conducting a more in-depth project on the dynamics of the aging labor force in agriculture in Japan and how technology may be one way to address this challenge. He will be continuing Meros’ ongoing tracking of Japanese start-ups in related fields, including automation, robotics and drones.

“I am also excited about actually going to the field and doing primary research through interviews and surveys. Doing this will allow me to get quality information that I would not be able to get anywhere else, which is an exciting thought.”

“I chose the topic of labor and technology as I thought it was a relevant topic in the current climate of Japan. Agriculture has always been a big part of this country and an industry that has allowed Japan to be famous for its cuisine. I read many articles about the struggles that farmers are facing due to the aging workforce and lack of succession which made me want to find an explanation and an answer to solve this problem. Hopefully, I will be able to find a suitable solution that could potentially help reignite this famous industry.”

Tomo is also looking forward to exploring Tokyo this summer. “The main thing I’m looking forward to is the food. In the UK, food is extremely expensive and mazui. Here, pretty much every street has a restaurant that trumps anything in Exeter and I’ll be making sure that I’m eating well.”

“Another thing I’m looking forward to is catching up with old primary school friends that live in Tokyo. I haven’t been able to meet them in 3 years and this will be a great opportunity to rekindle many relationships that have been slowly dissipating due to the lack of contact.”

Welcome, Tomo! We look forward to having you with us this summer!

14 Apr

Join us for the Tokyo launch event of the AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund! ( May 11, 2022 18:00-20:30)

Posted by Lucia Vancura in News

On May 11, 2022 Agfunder co-founder Michael Dean and John Friedman, Director of AgFunder Asia, will be coming to Tokyo for the launch event of the new AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund. The Fund had its first close in March 2022 at $10 million USD, with Meiji Holdings and Asahi as the anchor investors. The launch event will include a discussion of the rapidly growing global and Japanese food and agritech investment scene, as well as a chance to meet and socialize with agrifood tech enthusiasts. The event will be held in person at CIC Tokyo with online participation also welcome. Please join us! Register at the link below.

Accelerating Sustainable Food and Agriculture Innovation for the Future

Time: May 11, 2022, 18:00-20:30（Seminar 18:00-19:30, Networking 19:30-20:30）

Registration: https://agritechevent.peatix.com/

Location: CIC Tokyo (Online participants will be able to join the seminar by Zoom link.)

Charge: Free

Capacity: The in-person event is limited to 50 participants but online participation is always welcome

Seminar Topics: The global agritech and food tech scene, Japan’s position in the global market, AgFunder’s activities in Asia and the role of its GROW Impact Accelerator, the development of the AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund

This event is hosted by SDG Impact Japan with the support of AgFunder and Meros Consulting.

About the AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund: The AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund is a joint vehicle of sustainable investment company SDG Impact Japan and Singapore-based VC AgFunder Asia Pte Ltd. (AgFunder Group. The agritech and foodtech investment fund will invest globally in promising agrifood tech start-ups who are addressing the most critical sustainability challenges in the global food system. Start-ups of interest include those advancing a more sustainable food system by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, mitigating food loss, improving soil and crop monitoring and increasing efficiency and productivity through biotechnology and digitalization. The Fund also aims to connect Japanese agri-food start-ups with overseas investors and will assist overseas start-ups in expanding their businesses into Japan and throughout the Asia Pacific. The fund made its first close in March 2022 at $10 million USD, with Japanese food conglomerate Meiji Holdings and brewery major Asahi Group Holdings as the anchor investors.

21 Mar

Aquaponics arrives in Japan – but is there a market?

Posted by Team Meros in Market Trends

Aquaponics has arrived in Japan, and is already offering opportunities for training and R&D, with eye on eventually developing a solid commercial market for aquaponically grown products.

Aquaponics is a cyclical organic farming method that is a cross between aquaculture (“aqua”culture) and hydroponics (hydro”ponics”). Microorganisms decompose fish waste and the plants absorb it as nutrients, thus allowing vegetables and fruits to be grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, or insecticides. With the growing demand for organic vegetables in many markets, there has also been growing global interest in aquaponics.

The main produce usually grown using aquaponics are leafy greens such as lettuce and herbs, which have a short harvest cycle and high profitability. However, if profitability is not the goal, almost any other plant, including fruit, flowers, and ornamental plants can be grown using aquaponic technology

Leafy greens, like the lettuce growing here at Aquponi’s farm in an LED system, is one of the most common vegetables grown with aquaponics. The fish live in the tank in the circular tank on the right.

Aquponi is the first company in Japan specializing in aquaponics and recently, Meros visited Aquponi’s farm in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture to understand more about what they are planning in Japan and how the industry is developing. Aquponi’s focus is on conducting R&D related to aquaponics, supporting the building of aquaponic farms in Japan as well as selling aquaponics kits for home use. The company aims to promote aquaponics as a sustainable growing system in Japan and providing training to individuals and companies in aquaponics through its Aquaponics Academy with both online and in person courses.. The facilities are also available for companies and universities to conduct research. They offer opportunities to experiment with working with aquaponic systems in greenhouses, using natural sunlight, as well as indoor systems, using LED lighting.

Above: Inspecting the fish tanks in the sunlit greenhouse and a look at the freshwater fish that are an essential part of this system.

However, finding a commercial market for aquaponic produce in Japan is still a challenge. According to Aquponi, the US leads the aquaponic market in both research and industry. In the US, aquaponic vegetables can be labeled as “aquaponic” and sold at a higher price than even regular organic vegetables. While some aquaculture companies and farmers in Japan have experimented with aquaponics, the demand in Japan for organic vegetables is much lower than in the US, and aquaponic vegetables have not yet found a market in Japan.

So while the good news is that aquaponics is gradually gaining recognition in Japan and the cultivation system itself has a variety of potential uses, including educational use in schools and horticultural medical use in hospitals, finding a market for aquaponic vegetables as an value-added product is still a challenge in Japan and is expected to be a longer term project.